- . o o m A L l A N Fi Ri-: ,-TAILED F:iNiCH.
/">u':'!iiiJii/s bellus, LATH.
I ^ATHAM caliu^ L'.Ui L.,. Giosbeai-;, a very misleading name: it
ucciii-s, accoi-ciing t" Ranisav, ni New Soutii Wales; South Australia; Interior
Pr('\ iiiee to'Wide Bay Dis'.:
The male above is brov.r. >,-rro\vly barred with blackish; the primaries only
indistinctly barred \nth liglUe. ':,To\vn on the outer web; lower part of rump and
upper tail-eoverts carniiiie red; the central tail feathers black, tinted near the base
with crimson; the others with light brown bars on the outer webs; the black
banding ou the head very fine, so as almost to appear uniform; ".he lores, a narrow
frontal band and the feathers encircling the eye black, inside which is a bare
bluish zone; under surlace of body sil^-er-grey, barred with black, most finely on
the throat and front of neck ; abdomen and under tail-coverts black : under wingcoverts
pale tawny, with faint dusky bandings; length 4,^, inches; beak crimson,
paler at the base of the upper maiit'.ible: legs flesh-coloured'; iris d/.rk In-.-wu
Accord ng to Gould, the sexes are alike.
The Loudon Zoological Societ}' purchased a pair of this species on the 3.|th
May. 1S70, and recorded them under the name of "Red-tailed Finches": ''this
was probably the first living pair kept'in confinement in Turope; thoui-li it seems
likely tluit so pretty a species was previously knovMi as a cage-bird in Australia.
Herr Wiener says that he always found Fire-tailed Finches •'Aiv in the most
unexpected and disappoiutirg manner. One single bird out of -!,any liS'ed in my
aviary for o\'er a twelvemouth, but he was sent to a show on tlie Continent as a
curiosity, and died there as unexpectedly as man>- newly imported specimens had
done." He continues :—
"M}' o\ra experience has been unfortunately' shared by Dr. Russ, by Prinz
Ferdinand of Coburg Gotha, and all other am;iteurs. Tjie bird seems to require
•The trivial iiaue or -Rtifoas-taile.l r.rnss-liiirh;' -.vliici! J reconth i>roi,u,vil for HathUda mllcnida. thus
becoijjes uecessar}', io nvoi<i coJifuiioii.
AUSTRALIAN FIRE-TAILED FINCH.i
1'
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SK;
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